If I believe the bible is fiction...made up by men.....why would it hold any revelance for me in your answers. Can you give me more???? Why are there so many inconsistancies when people interpret the bible....
SHouldn't God have given us a bible we would all understand as one rather than making it so confusing we as people had to break up into secular groups (lutheran,methodist..ect). Would a God be this perverse???
2007-03-14 06:37:05 · 37 answers · asked by ste.phunny 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
no god wouldnt
but people would.. and are
2007-03-14 06:39:26 · answer #1 · answered by Loathing 6 · 7⤊ 0⤋
You can't understand the bible because you do not have the SPIRIT of GOD in your heart....yes you and the other GODLESS people may be able to understand things blatantly literal... but the bible is written by the finger of GOD through GODLY men of old to promote spiritual growth. Your spirit is dead or more precisely, separated from GOD by sin. Until you do what your other answerer,Mr Schneb suggested, you will never understand the deep spiritual things of GOD... and you along with all the other GODLESS will perish in the torments of the lake of fire for ever and ever, see Revelation 20:11-15. Oh also, keep in mind that some things are true no matter how bad that you do not want them to be. I don't mean to be so direct but I think someone out there needed to read it. Have a nice day.....
~GOD BLESS YOU AND LEAD YOU INTO ALL TRUTH~
2007-03-14 07:06:14 · answer #2 · answered by wordman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Amen, sister!
I am a Christian, but I agree with you on an important point: quoting the Bible as proof to someone who does not believe in the Bible is futile and pointless. It is ok to make a point, but if that is all someone has to argue with, then it is a waste of time. It would be like reading Tolkien to someone to prove that there are trolls or dragons when they do not believe in fairy tales.
You are also right that there are a lot of inconsistencies when people interpret the Bible. Here is where I part with your beliefs, however: I think that God gave us a Bible that is open to interpretation on purpose, and that this is a good thing. We are a diverse people with many different ideas and cultures. We all have different personal and spiritual needs. God has provided us with a multitude of ways to reach him and understand him in our own way. We are not forced by God to conform to one another; but we often do it anyway.
The fault lies in the secular. It is the people who take their own personal beliefs and try to push them onto others. It is the people, the secular, that want more power or wealth or land. These people use religion as their excuse to push themselves onto others. It is a matter of power and control, not religion. Without religion, then people would just pick something else to fight about. Nationalism or race come to mind as good examples.
I don't intend this to convince you to read the Bible or believe in God. You have a right to do what you want to. That said, I do not see the diversity of the Bible as being a bad thing. It is just a reflection of the diversity of us. It is like the Constitution. People interpret it in many different ways, and they do not always agree with one another. However, without the Constitution, we would not be the relatively free country that we are. The power is still in the hands of the people to change things.
2007-03-14 06:47:07 · answer #3 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The very fact that the Bible is a collection of 66 books, written by 45 different authors, most of whom never even met each other, over a period of 1500 years, and yet it is one cohesive unit, is proof of its divine inspiration. No other holy book on Earth can make such claims. I would be suspicious of any holy book that is written by a single man (like Joseph Smith or Mohammed).
There are only inconsistencies when people try to interpret the Bible themselves. The Bible itself says that there is to be "no private interpretation" of Scripture. We are to allow the Bible to interpret itself. If there is something in the Bible you don't understand, you will find a definition for it in another part of the Bible. The best way to allow the Bible to interpret itself is to look at ALL the verses that deal with that particular subject, then the answer will become clear.
There are so many denominations, because they will take a single line of text and make an entire doctrine out of it, without comparing it to other similar texts. Most divisions in Christianity are due to people interpreting the Bible for themselves, instead of letting it interpret itself.
2007-03-14 06:47:57 · answer #4 · answered by FUNdie 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Because God (or anyone) cannot provide any written document that doesn't cause confusion. All written (& spoken) words are necessarily open to interpretation. Every utterance demands the audience attempt to determine what the utterer means, but the audience can never be certain. This is true for all documents, from religious texts to fictional works to scientific reports. There is no such thing as "plain" language. Ever.
Furthermore, even if one assumes that God exists (as I do) and lends his help to people trying to interpret the Bible (as I do), there will always be people, who, for their own benefit, chose to interpret the words in a manner that is to their own benefit, rather than God's.
So it's not a matter of perversity. For a good reference on the problem of interpretation, see Stanley Fish's book "Doing What Comes Naturally." Note that this is not a religious book, it is on legal and literary theory.
2007-03-14 06:45:22 · answer #5 · answered by Qwyrx 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Why do so many people today hear something that is truth, and tell 2 other people...and by the time it reaches the third person it has flipped around to something totally different than originally told?
People interpret the Bible and events in different ways. Humans who wrote the Bible, being divinely inspired by God, does not mean that humans cannot make a mistake here and there. Just because God says something...do people do it? No. Have a lot of the people in the Bible always obeyed what God said? No. And different perspectives have different viewpoints. That doesn't make the Bible inconsistent...it just shows our humanity, and sometimes our lack of understanding for the times a book or verse was written in.
God doesn't make things confusing...people make them confusing by twisting them around. That doesn't make the Bible of no effect, just because some other people decided, "Hey, I don't like this translation...I'll make another one that I do like and that says what I want it to say". Anymore than reading any other book and saying, "I don't like how this goes, I'll write my own version" counts. That doesn't make the original book void because of that idea. Just like when Christians set bad examples...does that discount the rest of them? It shouldn't, but people in their minds let that be their determining factor. People drive bad, too. Are all drivers bad? No.
I don't believe God made different "denominations" come about, either. I am non-denominational...it's not about that for me. It's about seeking my Creator. God gives us free will to choose...and likewise is not just going to strike somebody down for thinking differently or teaching something differently than what He says (if He did...would a lot of questioners of Him be on earth still?) Denominations in my opinion are basically started by people who didn't like the Bible's view on it...and either went off to write their own 'bible' or came up with their own doctrine suitable to their desires. Nothing to do with God and perverseness...people cause a lot of problems. In the same way that tabloids and other places make up and distribute countless lies..."freedom of speech". God gives us freedom to choose to believe in Him or not.
2007-03-14 06:48:27 · answer #6 · answered by JMR 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Denominationalism is a huge problem and I can see why you would point that out. God has revealed His word to us in a reliable form of the scriptures; however there are many different interpretations as you've noticed; this stems from a lack of unity in the faith. Even before Jesus died, he prayed for unity of His followers. That is the key, if all Christians could get along and see the common thread I think the faith would be more genuine. The thing that divides us is the Devil and Sin. We can't get along because we have sin in our lives, and the Devil likes it that way. I encourage you to study a Bible of your choice and let It speak to you and you interpret it ask for God to reveal himself to you. Hope this helps somewhat.
2007-03-14 08:58:00 · answer #7 · answered by studentofword84 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God did give us a bible, but as always we can not trust the hand of men. The ten commandments were the closets thing to a god made bible as they could get. Unfortunalty even the first set were destroyed....could you imagine having to go back up to where god talked to you and asking for a copy.....geeze wizz. So really was it made by man or by god.....hummmm......The bible itself isnt written by god, its a composite of storys that were passed down from people, their generations later. So some, bits, or parts, or even non of it may be true. And the kings james version is even worse, because it was made for king james so it was altered. The dead sea scrolls that were found and translated were written by monks, so regardless of any biblical writting they were all written by men. Religion was developed by man so they could control the masses. So really when it comes down to it...who can you beilive. I say just beilive in what you want to, because usually the only one you can trust is yourself.
2007-03-14 06:49:00 · answer #8 · answered by cats4ever2k1 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Bible did not fall from the sky. Men found tablets and parchment papers and turned them into a belief system. There are over 29 books that "The Church" saw not to put in the Bible because it put Jesus in a more Prophet area than The Son Of God. God doesn't have to explain Himself to us. We are very intelligent. Have you ever tried to explain yourself to a cockroach? We are a flea on the back of a dog, that is how tiny we are compared to the cosmos.For someone to say "If you don't believe in God, you are going to burn in hell" is blasphemy. I believe in a Supreme Being, not a tin god that you have to bow and scrape to. It says He loves us all, maybe we should just accept that and go on about our lives and just try to be nice to people and let them live their lives as they wish. I think you have made a very good question. You have the right to live your life anyway you want, within the law of course. I don't really believe in a God, the Churches preach of. I believe that my belief is my business, just as yours is too. Hope I didn't step on your toes. I actually agree with you on almost everything you wrote. Good Luck
2007-03-14 06:52:09 · answer #9 · answered by Josephine 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I pronounce you BIBLE FREE!
Now you no longer have to worry about Christians or what to believe. you can believe in anything . I recommend Marxism to you as it is a Bible free belief.
The American Judiciary is evangelizing America to believe in Marxist Socialism by enforcing the former USSR Constitutions command for a separation of church and state
2007-03-14 06:49:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many bible versions written in different formats for ease of understanding by anybody literate. They even print childrens bibles.
All the groups use the same bible but I would imagine if you believe it to be fiction there would be no understanding. Peace :-)
2007-03-14 06:46:05 · answer #11 · answered by me 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋